November 2008 New Specialty Toys — Miniatures

Clay-Mates are a great value gift and make perfect stocking stuffers. These handmade miniatures are crafted in Thailand of porcelain clay. The 20-piece Starter Set is a perfect way to start a new collector. "Clay-Mates consist of a variety of whimsical, real and imaginary animals, birds and sea life. Each tiny character is meticulously detailed with delightful and charming features. Although very similar, no two are ever identical," Lisa Ramus, president of Clay-Mates USA, told "iPlay Jungle Animal Pinball resembles the age-old classic eat-up pinball games, but includes a new twist. Instead of gathering pinballs, players are required to keep the pinballs out!" Nicole Tiedemann, PR account executive for International Playthings, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2008.. Launch date: 2008.

This pewter miniature figurine is by Bobby Jackson and features a sword, shield and heavy armor. Launch date: 2008.

This miniatures building, showing rubble and a demolished interior, measures 13.25" L x 7" W x 8" H. Launch date: October 13, 2008.

The World of Elves line from Schleich brings a fanciful air to the carefully detailed figurines that Schleich has been producing for many years. In the World of Elves, a great battle between good and evil is played out between the Sun elves and the Shadow elves.  The wolf-riding character Jaro adds to an extensive host of characters for children to collect and illustrate their own creative stories with. Launch date: Spring 2008.
—  “The Schleich Fairy line has done very well,” said Jackie Englehart, assistant manager at Great Rocky Mountain Toy Company in Bozeman, Mont.
—  “We sell a lot of Schleich,” said Wallace Harvey, buyer and manager at Three Cheeky Monkeys in Los Angeles, Calif., when TDmonthly asked about his best-selling collectible toys.
—  Margy Peine, owner of Tree House Toys in Cumberland, Md., said in August 2008 that she sells an average of 100 Schleich animals and knights per month.

Breyer’s Bluegrass Bandit model is a replica of a champion Tennessee Walking Horse of the same name. The 1:9 scale sculpture is hand painted with great attention to detail, and no two are exactly alike. Bluegrass Bandit is part of Beyer’s Traditional line.
—  “I sell a lot of Breyer horses … 20 to 30 per month. We're in horse country,” explained Mike DiAndrea, manager of The Hardware Centre in Paoli, Pa.
—  “People are still into collecting them,” added Greg Bonner, owner of Heights Toy Center in Little Rock, Ark.
—  Retailers reported average sales of 20 Breyer horses per month to TDmonthly in August 2008.

The 30 multi-part miniatures included in this kit are made of hard plastic and stand 28mm tall. They come with 15, full-color shield stickers and are unpainted and unassembled.

This set features 30 multi-part hard plastic Imperial Roman Legionaries that are 28mm tall. The unassembled unpainted figurines come with full-color waterslide shield transfers as well as extra helmets, shields, pila and more.